Tunis-- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Al Baraka Bank in Tunisia announced today a new collaboration to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in the Agenda 2030 that all United Nations Member States agreed to in 2015.

Signing the joint cooperation agreement, Mr. Mohamed EL Moncer, General Director of Al Baraka Bank and Mr. Steve Utterwulghe, Resident Representative of UNDP in Tunisia committed both parties to collaborating to support Tunisian efforts to end poverty (SDG G 1); promote good health and wellbeing (SDG 3); ensures inclusive and equitable quality education (SDG 4); achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment (SDG 5); provides affordable, clean and reliable energy (SDG 7); promote decent work and economic growth (SDG 8); and build resilient infrastructures, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation (SDG 9).

"We are acutely aware that we have only one decade left ahead of us to realise the promise of Agenda 2030 and achieve the SDGs. We also know that public financing alone will not be sufficient to reach the goals.” stressed Steve Utterwulghe, Resident Representative of UNDP. “This partnership is testament to how the private sector can contribute to building a new architecture for financing development, mobilizing domestic resources and launching investments and commercial activities to help meet the global gaols.”

More specifically, both parties will collaborate on joint initiatives to promote greater awareness of and engagement in the national pursuit to achieve the SDGs, focusing on three thematic areas.

First, both parties will jointly foster innovation, through specialized events and hackathons to promote socio-economic sustainable development of local communities in Tunisia, with special focus on the inclusion of vulnerable populations.

Secondly, they will initiate a programme to provide greater opportunities for art and culture professionals to contribute to SDG acceleration efforts and broader areas of sustainable development, channeling their creative contributions and solutions through periodic artistic events, exhibitions, and competitions.

Finally, UNDP and Al Baraka Bank will collaborate in devising national and local solutions to remove barriers to economic and social inclusion for persons with disabilities and enhance their access to productive assets and services, to realize the promise of Agenda 2030 to leave no one behind.

Through this partnership, Al Baraka Bank Tunisia sets a pioneering precedent as the first bank in the middle East and North Africa region to capitalize on the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the International Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C and UNDP globally, signed in 2018 and designed to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in the 17 countries where the bank has a presence in three continents.

Determined to the principles of responsible banking, Al Baraka Bank has aligned its business strategy with sustainable development objectives, whereby its products and services create value for the bank’s customers and investors, while contributing positively to the benefit society at the same time.